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To hear some recent products of the WWE Developmental system tell it, NXT is a magical place (not unlike Tahiti). That impression is created by the company itself with things like “We are NXT” chants and the marketing of Dusty Rhodes’ legacy as a teacher, and hearing Bayley or Finn Bálor speak of the Orlando-based brand as “home” reinforces it.
One person who was part of NXT’s glory days of 2014-2015 and a quarter of the vaunted Four Horsewomen doesn’t exactly feel that way, as she told Stone Cold on last week’s Steve Austin Show Unleashed podcast (H/T Wrestling Inc for transcription):
I actually always felt more comfortable on RAW and SmackDown than NXT. Yes, the bigger crowd I'm more comfortable in front of. Smaller crowd, less comfortable. I don't know why. Yeah.
As soon as I came out on RAW, always felt just, 'I'm at home'. NXT was less comfortable for me. I don't know why. Maybe it's the smaller crowds and getting a reaction is harder.
In addition to bigger crowds, the current SmackDown Women’s champ also appreciates just going out and performing on the main roster. That’s understandable from someone who’d been in and out of the business for a decade before signing her WWE contract, and maybe wasn’t used to and probably didn’t need as much time as NXT gives you to prepare - and possibly overthing - everything:
But as far as NXT goes, you're training there six days a week or five days a week, you're doing your shows three days a week. And then, we've got tapings once a month, so there's more material and your mind is constantly going, constantly running new things, so you're constantly thinking. Sometimes, the weekly show, you've got to get it done. You've got a story to go to and you have to think right there on the spot. In NXT you've got a longer time to work on different things.
Check out the whole interview for more from the Lasskicker on her journey from 15 year old wrestling “wild child” to WWE Superstar, and let us know if you’re surprised Lynch broke ranks from the “NXT is home” angle we so often hear from its alums.